Improvement in cultivators



" .UNITED 'STATES DAVID E. HALL, 0F :'ABINGDON, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT :IN CULTiVATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 18,587, dated November10, 1857.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, DAVID E. HALL, of Ab-f'Vingdon, in the vcounty of Knox and State of1lli nois, have invented anew and Improved Cultivator; and l do hereby declare that the fol-.jlowing is a full, clear, and exactI description ofthe same, referencebeing had to the lan-Q nexed drawings, making a part ot' thisspecification, in whichv Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section ofmy improvement, taken in the line .t fr, Fig. 2.l Fig. 2 is a back viewof the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspending parts in thetwofigures.

The object of this invention is to place the shares of the device underthe complete con-l trol of the attendant, so that the shares may` beelevated free from the ground or moved lat# erally hwith the greatestfacility, thereby ena-Q blingthe driver to adjust or move the shares`corresponding to the sinuous form of the rows,

and always enable him to raise them in order to avoid obstructions whichmay be in their path, and also to keep the shares elevated as themachine is moved from place to place, or as it is turned at the ends ot'rows.

The invention also consists in the employment or use of cutters attachedto the device in such a manner that stalks, which frequently encumberthe shares, may be cut off, and thereby allowed to be removed or plowedunder ground without affecting the perfect operation of the machine.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct myinvention, I will proceed to describe it.

Arepresents a horizontal rectangular frame, which is supported by twowheels, B B. The frame A is formed of two side pieces, a a, connected bytwo cross-ties, b b.

C is the draft-pole, attached to the cross-ties at their centers. (SeeFig. l.)

On the cross-tie b a semi-elliptic spring, D, is placed, and a bolster,E, is secured on the upper part or surface of the spring.

F represents a bar, the front end of which is attached by a bolt, c, tothe center of the front cross-tie, b. This bar rests upon the bolster E,and has the seat Gr of the driver upon its back part. The bolt c passesloosely th rough the bar E, so that said bar may be moved laterally orvertically to a certain extent.

On the back end of each side piece, a a', a pendant, H, is placed.VThese pendants have each a mortise made in their lower ends, and oneend of a bar, I, is fitted and pivoted in each mortise, said bars beingfitted loosely in the mortises, so that they may have a certain degreeof vertical play or movement.

The front or opposite ends of the bars I I are fitted in pendent slottedbars J J, attached to a bar, K, the ends of which are fitted in guides dd, attached to the side pieces, tt a., the bar K being allowed to slidefreely within said guides d d.

To the center of the bar Kan arm, e, is attached, and a strap, L, isattached to said arm. rEhe ends of this strap pass through mortises inthe cross-tie b', and each end of the Strap is attached to a treadle, M,the front ends of which are pivoted to hangers ff, attached to the frontcross-tie, b.

N N represent two treadles, which are pivoted to hangers g g, attachedto the backcrosstie b', one at each end. rlhe front ends of thesetreadles are connected b v straps h to the front ends of the bars I I.(See Fig. l.)

To each bar I two inclined pendent bars, O O', are attached, one to eachside of each bar I, and to the lower part of each bar O O a shovel orcultivator-sharc, P, is attached. Each bar O Ol is braced by a rod, t.

- To the inner sides of the two front bars, O O', a cutter, Q, isattached by a pivot, j.

- The blades of these cutters are ot hook or The implement may be drawnby either one or two horses, according to its size, as larger or smallerimplements may be used, according to the nature of the work to beperformed. The driver is placed on the seat, and as the implement isdrawn along the shares P perform their work as usual, the hills beingbetween the shares-that is, the shares of the two bars I are at oppositesides of the rows.

When a row is winding the shares are adjusted laterally to conform toits sinuosities by operating the treadles M M with the feet; and in casea hill should be out of line with its fellows the shares, instead ofplowing it out, as usual, may, by being moved laterally, be made toavoid it, and still plow it properly. This lateral movement or adjustability of the shares is important, as the horses do not require tobe moved or guided out of a direct course in order that the implementmay conform to the winding of the rows and prevent the stray hills frombeing plowed out. The driver, by placing his feet upon the treades N N,nay raise the bars I, and consequently the shares I P, so that saidshares will be free from the ground and allowed to pass overobstruclions, and also be kept elevated in turning at the ends of rowsand when the implement is being drawn from place to place.

It frequently occurs in plowing or cultivating crops that stalks, weeds,Src., will wind around and cucumber the front shares and prevent theproper working of the machine. I obviate this diliiculty by means of thecutters Q, which, by depressing the treadle N, and thereby raising thebars I, cause the cutters Q, in consequence of the projections R beingconnected to the rods l, to pass over the edges of the prongs m n of theplates R, the cutters dividing the stalks and causing them to bedetached from the shares as they move along.

I would also remark that as the cutters Q are connected to the bolster Eby the rods Z, and as the bar F rests on the bolster, more or Alessmotion will be given said cutters by the movement of the machine, andthis will have a tendency to prevent the accumulation of weeds, Snc.,around the shares P. The treadles N would only require to be operatedoccasionally to assist in cases ot' a large accumulation.

I am aware that cultivators have been previously devised in which shareshave been so arranged as to allow a certain degree of latera-l movement;but I am not aware that shares have been arranged and applied, as hereinshown, to admit ot' the two movements described, and rendered capable ofbeing adjusted with such facility. I therefore do not claim broadly and'separately the adjustable shares irrespective of the arrangement hereinshown and described; but

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The attachingof the shares P I to the bars I I, which have their back ends pivoted inthe pendants H H and their front ends fitted in the pendent slotted barsJ J, which are attached to the sliding bar K, the bar K being operatedby the treadles M to give the lateral movement to the shares and thebars I used vertically by the treadles N to give them their verticalmovement, substantially as described.

2. The cutters Q, pivoted to the bars O and over the plates R andconnected to the rods Z, the whole being arranged as shown, for thepurpose specified.

DAVID E. HALL.

"Witnesses:

H. L. UPsoN, J. B. MoA'rs.

